Caribbean investment bank, RF, eyes digital currency transactions

RF Holdings Limited, parent company to a group of investment banks in The Bahamas, Barbados, and The Cayman Islands, has announced a new partnership with financial technology company, Bitt, to facilitate the acceptance of digital currency transactions across its Caribbean network.

The goal of this partnership is to develop a platform based on Bitt’s digital currency infrastructure which is expected to make it possible for a wider network of Caribbean clients to access digital currencies, such as The Bahamas ‘Sand Dollar’, ‘mMoney’ in Barbados, and the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank’s ‘DCash’, and to make them applicable to the investment’s bank’s products.

The short-term goal for the platform is to facilitate transactions using digital currencies which are already available in The Bahamas and Barbados, while also working towards offering these services to the rest of the Caribbean. As more digital currencies become available via the new digital infrastructure, cross-border digital currency exchange becomes a closer possibility for the Caribbean region.

Michael Anderson, President & CEO of RF Group, in a statement, commented: “digital currencies have been gaining popularity internationally and we’ve seen an increased interest for the same in the Caribbean. At RF, we believe in embracing new technologies and trends to serve our clients in the most effective ways. We look forward to creating in collaboration with Bitt a convenient solution for our clients who previously couldn’t access our investment vehicles to easily do business with us.”

Bitt’s CEO, Brian Popelka, also said: “since our 2016 launch of the synthetic digital currency in Barbados, Bitt has been working towards the creation of an intra-regional cross-border settlement solution to unlock trade, investment, and remittance flows within the Caribbean. We are thrilled to be working with RF Holdings to leverage Bitt Digital Currency Management Systems in creating a solution that will boost RF’s product offering and usher in a transformational way of conducting business within the region.”

“Bitt has been working towards the creation of an intra-regional cross-border settlement solution to unlock trade, investment, and remittance flows within the Caribbean”

The long-term goal of the platform is to facilitate general online payments, making mobile and online goods and services more accessible, and more affordable. The hope is to bring businesses closer to their clients and drive down cost by making payments more seamless in the whole of the Caribbean region.